The Monarchs of Mater Dei have a rich City of Palms Classic tradition, so it was a bit of a surprise when they took it on the chin from St. Petersburg Gibbs a couple of days ago.  It will be interesting to see how they bounce back against an Edgewater squad that is athletic and led by 6’7 Myles Mayfield and 6’4 Darius Washington III.

Washington opened up the game with a three and after Mater Dei’s 6’6 sophomore Demarcus Henry countered in kind, Washington hit another one to give Edgewater an early 6-3 lead.  Mater Dei then reeled off six straight to grab the lead.  The teams would trade baskets and with just over two minutes to play, the score was tied at 14-14.  Mater Dei splashed another three and after an Edgewater free throw, Mater Dei got a putback from 6’7 freshman Evan Willis to go up 19-15 with under a minute to play.  Each team would score one basket each to close out the first quarter with Mater Dei up 21-17.

A steal and score by 6’4 junior Luke Barnett open the second quarter for Mater Dei.  From there, Edgewater ran off eight straight points, four off those by Washinton to take a two-point 25-23 lead.  Things slowed down for both teams at that point until Mater Dei ran off six straight to take a 29-25 lead with just over two minutes to play.  Edgewater scored in transition to get to within two but Barnett scored on a drive for Mater Dei.  Edgewater responded quickly as Washington hit a half-court three just before horn to make it a one-point game, 31-30, in favor of Mater Dei at the break.

Things were a bit slow to start the third period.  Edgewater eventually tied the score at 31-31 and the score remained tied after each team dropped in a three.  Barnett dropped in a three for Mater Dei and after Edgewater made one of two free throws the Monarchs connected again from three to make the score 40-35 with just over two minutes to go in the period.  The teams would trade baskets for the rest of the quarter until Henry scored inside for Mater Dei to give the Monarchs a 47-40 lead going into the final period.

Try as they might, Edgewater could never get over a five-point hump over the course of the fourth.  Eventually, Mater Dei increased their lead into double-digits after back-to-back three point plays from Barnett and Henry.  The closest the Eagles would get would be nine points but eventually fell by eleven, 66-55.

Barnett led Mater Dei with 24 points while Henry was not far behind with 22 points.  Blake Davidson, a 6’9 senior added 12 points for the Monarchs.

For Edgewater, Washington finished with 22 points while 6’0 junior Travis Scott finished with 12 points.